WESTCHESTER, NY — August 7, 2018 — Andrea Stewart Cousins, the NYS Senate’s Democratic Conference Leader and local State Senator, has officially kicked off her re-election campaign. Senator Stewart-Cousins has served Westchester families in the State Senate since 2006 and represents communities in Greenburgh, part of White Plains, part of New Rochelle, part of Yonkers, and Scarsdale. The Democratic Primary Election will take place on Thursday, September 13 and the General Election will take place on Tuesday, November 6.

As our local State Senator and as Senate Democratic Leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins has made standing up to Trump and his supporters in Washington and New York State a top priority. She has led the resistance to President Trump’s policies and advanced measures to protect women’s rights, expand firearm safety, increase voting rights and reforms, pass environmental protections, and fight back against the disastrous Trump/GOP tax plan.

“It has been my honor to serve Westchester families as their State Senator, and I have worked hard to represent our communities and values in Albany,” Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins said. “With Trump in the White House and our protections under attack, I have worked tirelessly to invest in our public schools, advance sensible gun laws, stand up for women’s rights and health care, and ensure our vulnerable communities are protected. I will keep up the fight in our State Senate, and with the support of my constituents and Senate Democratic colleagues, I know we will make history next year.”

In 2012, Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins was elected by her Democratic colleagues to serve as the Leader of the Senate Democratic Conference, the first woman in the history of New York to hold a legislative leadership position. With a blue wave sweeping the nation and the Senate Republican Majority holding a razor thin 32-31 margin in the 63-member Chamber, State Senate Democrats are in an excellent position to win a strong and functional Majority this November. When that happens, Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins will become the first woman in New York State history to lead a Legislative Chamber, negotiate the State Budget, and determine what legislation is able to advance to the Senate Floor. This historic accomplishment would also mean that the 35th Senate District would be represented by the most powerful Senator in New York.

Some of the Senator’s notable legislative accomplishments include:

· Delivering record increases in State funding for public schools throughout our community

· Cutting middle class income taxes to the lowest levels in over sixty years.

· Creating thousands of jobs in Westchester through the Regional Economic Development Councils.

· Passing the toughest gun safety laws in the nation by providing the critical votes for the NY SAFE Act

· Bringing the voices of women to the table on issues like pay equity, sexual harassment and reproductive choice

· Leading the fight to raise the minimum wage in New York State to $15/hr

· Ensuring access to quality affordable health care for all New Yorkers

· Raising the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18 and fighting for other reforms in the criminal justice system

About Andrea Stewart-Cousins

Andrea Stewart-Cousins was born and raised in New York. She grew up in public housing in upper west side Manhattan and The Bronx. Her father was a WWII Veteran who earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart while serving his country in a segregated Army and her mother was a civil servant for the City of New York.

Andrea Stewart-Cousins moved to Westchester in 1979, settling with her late husband and three children in the west side of Yonkers. She has lived there ever since.

In her early career, Andrea Stewart-Cousins worked as a journalist, a public-school teacher and for 13 years at New York Telephone/ AT&T – first in the business office then as a sales and marketing professional. She entered government in 1992 when she was appointed by former Yonkers Mayor Terry Zaleski as the city’s Director of Community Affairs, the first African American woman to hold that position. While there, she co-created the Art on Main Street program and was a co-founder of Yonkers Riverfest, an annual city-wide festival that continues to this day. She also played a key role in the City’s proactive outreach efforts to all communities.

In 1995, Andrea Stewart-Cousins was elected to the Westchester County Board of Legislators where she served for a decade. While there, she created Westchester’s groundbreaking human rights laws, piloted the county’s sexual assault nurse examiner program, passed restrictions against smoking in the work place and created tough safe storage requirements for gun owners. She eventually rose to the position of Vice Chair of the Board.

Senator Stewart-Cousins first ran for the State Senate in 2004. She lost that election by just 18 votes. Two years later, she ran again and won by over 2,000 votes. She has served in the State Senate since then.

Senator Stewart-Cousins earned her Bachelor of Science Degree from Pace University and her teaching credentials in Business Education from Lehman College while raising her children as an adult. In 2008, she earned her Master of Public Administration from Pace University and is a proud member of Pi Alpha Alpha – a Public Administration Honor Society.

She was married to the late Tom Cousins and has three children and four grandchildren.

SOURCE: Campaign to Re-elect New York State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins

Yonkers has had so much financial problems. Our taxes were raised, our schools were cut, and senior services were never the same. Andrea was too busy playing politics instead of working with Republicans to bring down money from Albany .